Classic Stamp Forgeries

Features of the genuine stamps

1. Corner elements are very fine and do not touch the outer frame

2. None of the letters touch the frames

3. Note the shape & size of the cross and ball.

4. Clear space in ring of crown

5. 18 vertical lines in the shield

6. Middle leg of E much shorter.

7. Crowns have 3 diamond rings visible

8. Middle leg of F much shorter.

9. Central vein in each feather.

10. Note distance from frame

11. NOTE the corner perfs are a comb type, forgeries will generally be line perfed

Genuine stamps

Mi 9, 10a, 11

Mi 12, 13, 14

Mi 15, 16, 17

Mi 18, 19b, 20

Mi 21, 22b, 23

Mi 24, 25a

Forgeries

Mi 9

1 Lower leg of E is longer

2 Face & crown very different

3 Tip is closer to the frame

4 Heavily broken horizontal lines

5 Z middle bar is more inclined and bottom is longer than the top

Mi 13

1 Bottom leg of E is longer
2 Face & crown are wrong
3 Small cross
4 Tail is close to the frame
5 Top of S is smaller than the bottom

Mi 16

1 Dots touch the frame
2 Coarse outline around elements
3 Thicker 3

Mi 16

1 B has an extension on top
2 Crown lacks details
3 Very different shape 3
4 Broken lines
5 Thin letter

Mi 17 Torres

1 Thin curved beak

2 Narrow crown

3 Very thick letters

4 Odd corner ornaments

5 KR instead of KREUZER

Mi 17 "Fournier" forgery

1 Top of B extends outwards
2 Center leg of B cut off
3 Crown details missing & right side larger than left side
4 Details in corners missing
5 Breaks and shaded areas

NOTE - although part of the Geneva Fournier collection there is no evidence that Fournier forged these stamps

Mi 19 Forgery - "Fournier"
1 Small cross on crown
2 Slanted E
3 Heavy shading
4 Fake cancel, circles not evenly spaced

NOTE - although part of the Geneva Fournier collection there is no evidence that Fournier forged these stamps

Mi 19 forgery

1 Head very different
2 Crown lacking details
3 Many breaks in lines
4 Uneven letters
5 Frame lines not distinct

Mi 20 forgery

1 B has an extension on top
2 Thin letters
3 No details in the crown
4 Crude corner elements
5 Heavy shading

1 Heavily Shaded areas
2 Large dots, many joined
3 Thin letters

Mi 21 forgery

A very crude rendition with the
wrong word “FRIEMARK” in the right
frame

1 Head very different
2 Large top of B
3 Broken frame line
4 Point and pronounced curve on 1

Aside from a very crude overall rendering, the unique feature is the word “FAKSIMILE” in
the shield

Mi 22 forgery

1 Head wrong shape
2 Crude corner elements
3 Tip touches the frame
4 Thin letters
5 Heavy shading

1 Head & crown different
2 Wrong cross
3 Shading lines not in original
4 109 cancel does not match original and is fake

Mi 23 forgery

1 Wrong cross on crown
2 Broken uneven lines
3 Top of R not curved

Mi 25 forgery

1 Poorly shaped letters
2 Uneven lines
3 Dots joined
4 Curved M

Fournier Imperf forgeries

These are from the Geneva Collection

Sperati forgeries

Type A

Type B

Type C

Type D

Type A

1. there is a white spot just to the right of the "E" on "BADEN"

2. there is a white spot before the "1" of "18"

Type B

1. there is a nick in left outer frameline above the bottom left corner square

2. there is a nick at left side of right outer frameline at level of the top right ornament

Type C

1. there are white spots on each side of the "I" of "VEREIN"

2. there is a weak spot rather than a full period after "R" of "KREUZER"

Type D

1. there is a white spot in the space between "A" and "D" of "BADEN" towards the top

2. at the foot below the "FR" of "FREIMARKEN" there are two places where the color interrupts the white space

1862 Land Post Stamps

Original stamps

In 1859 a rural post was established in Baden to operate a service connecting rural villages which had no post-offices of their own with the nearest State Post office.

In 1862 a 1kr, 3kr, and 12kr stamps were ordered to be prepared for its use. Although the “PORTO MARKEN" indicates they were postage due, they served a dual purpose.

The stamps were not sold to the public but were used only by officers of the rural post. As such, they would be scarce were it not for the fact that in 1873 Julius Goldner (later known for unauthorized reprints) purchased the remainders consisting of 322,800 of the 1kr, 455,400 of the 3kr and 160,000 of the 12kr.